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Phospholipids [1] are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typically have omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA integrated as part of the phospholipid molecule. [2]
The three main structures phospholipids form in solution; the liposome (a closed bilayer), the micelle and the bilayer. [1] The lipid bilayer (or phospholipid bilayer) is a thin polar membrane made of two layers of lipid molecules. These membranes form a continuous barrier around all cells.
PA is a unique phospholipid in that it has a small highly charged head group that is very close to the glycerol backbone. PA is known to play roles in both vesicle fission [12] and fusion, [13] and these roles may relate to the biophysical properties of PA. At sites of membrane budding or fusion, the membrane becomes or is highly curved.
Membrane lipids are a group of compounds (structurally similar to fats and oils) which form the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The three major classes of membrane lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and cholesterol. Lipids are amphiphilic: they have one end that is soluble in water ('polar') and an ending that is soluble in fat ...
Each glycerophospholipid molecule consists of a small polar head group and two long hydrophobic chains. In the cell membrane, the two layers of phospholipids are arranged as follows: the hydrophobic tails point to each other and form a fatty, hydrophobic center; the ionic head groups are placed at the inner and outer surfaces of the cell membrane
Fluid mosaic model of a cell membrane. The fluid mosaic model explains various characteristics regarding the structure of functional cell membranes.According to this biological model, there is a lipid bilayer (two molecules thick layer consisting primarily of amphipathic phospholipids) in which protein molecules are embedded.
[21] [22] They are made of a hydrocarbon chain that terminates with a carboxylic acid group; this arrangement confers the molecule with a polar, hydrophilic end, and a nonpolar, hydrophobic end that is insoluble in water. The fatty acid structure is one of the most fundamental categories of biological lipids and is commonly used as a building ...
The outer shell of lipoprotein particles have the hydrophilic groups of phospholipids, cholesterol, and apolipoproteins directed outward. Such characteristics make them soluble in the salt-water-based blood pool. Triglycerides and cholesteryl esters are carried internally, shielded from the water by the outer shell. The kind of apolipoproteins ...